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Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Vatican City, 29 October 2014 (VIS) –
The Church: spiritual nature and visible reality. “Two different
things or a single Church?”, said the Pope in this Wednesday's
general audience, returning in his catechesis to the theme of the
Church. “If the Church is always one”, he continued, “how can
we understand the relationship between the visible and spiritual
reality?”.

Francis commented that when we speak
about visible reality we must not think only of the Pope, bishops,
priests, nuns and consecrated persons. “The visible reality of the
Church is constituted by the many baptised brothers and sisters
throughout the world who believe, hope and love. … The Church is
all of us”. Therefore, the visible reality of the Church cannot be
measured or known in its entirety. “How can we know all the wonders
that Christ is capable of achieving through us, in the hearts and
lives of people?” he said. “See: even the visible reality of the
Church goes beyond our control, beyond our strength, and it is a
mysterious reality, as it comes from God”.

To understand the relationship between
the visible and spiritual realities of the Church we must look to
Christ, “whose body is the Church and from whom She is generated,
in an act of infinite love. Indeed, also in Christ, through the
mystery of the Incarnation, we recognise a human nature and a divine
reality, united in the same person in a wonderful and indissoluble
way. This applies in a similar way to the Church … who is a mystery
too, in which what we are unable to see is more important than what
we can see, and can be recognised only with the eyes of faith”.

The Holy Father went on to ask how
visible reality could be placed at the service of the spiritual
nature of the Church, explaining that it is possible by following the
example of Christ, “who made use of His humanity, as He was also a
man, to announce and implement the divine plan for redemption and
salvation, as He was God. Through her visible reality, from all that
we see, the sacraments and the witness of all Christians, the Church
is called each day to be close to every person, beginning with the
poor; to the suffering and the marginalised, so as to make them aware
of Jesus' compassionate and merciful gaze”.

Before concluding, he asked all the
faithful present to pray for the gift of faith, “so that we are
able to comprehend how, despite our limits and our poverty, the Lord
has truly made us instruments of His grace and the visible sign of
His love for all humanity. We can become the source of scandal, it is
true. But we can also become the source of witness, saying through
our lives what Jesus wants from us”.

Vatican City, 29 October 2014 (VIS) –
After today's catechesis, Pope Francis expressed his grave concern
regarding the worsening of the Ebola epidemic, “this implacable
disease that is spreading especially in Africa, and in particular
among the most disadvantaged populations”.

The Holy Father expressed his affection
and closeness in prayer to those affected, along with the doctors,
nurses, volunteers, religious institutes and associations “who are
making heroic efforts to help our stricken brothers and sisters”.
He renewed his appeal to the international community “to take all
necessary measures to eradicate the virus and to alleviate the
suffering of those who are so sorely afflicted”.

Addressing the faithful present in St.
Peter's Square, he concluded, “I invite you to pray for them and
for those who have lost their lives”.

Vatican City, 29 October 2014 (VIS) –
The Holy Father will make an apostolic visit to Turkey from 28 to 30
November. The following statistical data on the Catholic Church in
the country is provided by the Central Office of Church Statistics.

Turkey has an area of 774,815 square
kilometres and a population of 76,140,000 inhabitants of whom 53,000
are Catholics – 0.07 % of the population. There are 7 ecclesiastic
circumscriptions, 54 parishes and 13 pastoral centres. The work of
the apostolate is carried out by 6 bishops, 58 priests, 7 male
religious and 54 female religious, and 2 permanent deacons. There are
2 lay members of secular institutes, 7 lay missionaries and 68
catechists. There are 4 major seminarians.

In addition, the Catholic Church in
Turkey has 23 educational centres consisting of pre-schools, primary
schools, middle schools and secondary schools, as well as 6 centres
of special education. There are also 3 hospitals, 2 clinics and 5
homes for the elderly and disabled.

Vatican City, 29 October 2014 (VIS) –
The director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi,
S.J., explained yesterday afternoon that President Evo Morales’
visit to the Vatican was due to his attendance at the International
Meeting of Popular Movements, organised by the Pontifical Council
“Justice and Peace”. Participants in the event received in
audience by the Pope on the morning of 28 October.

The visit was not, therefore, organised
through the usual diplomatic channels. The private and informal
meeting between the Holy Father and the President which took place
yesterday evening was an expression of affection and closeness to the
Bolivian people and Church, and of support for the improvement of
relations between the authorities and the Church within the country.

Vatican City, 29 October 2014 (VIS) –
Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Holy See Permanent Observer at the United
Nations in New York participated in the Security Council Open Debate
on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestine
question. The nuncio's address, structured in six points, focuses on
the Holy See's conviction that peace in the Middle East may be
achieved only through negotiation and not by unilateral decisions
imposed by force.

“As regards the Israeli-Palestinian
question, the Holy See reiterates its support for a two State
solution”, he affirmed. “Israel and Palestine, with the vigorous
support of the competent organs of the United Nations and of the
whole international community, must work toward the final objective,
which is the realisation of the right of the Palestinians to have
their own State, sovereign and independent, and of the right of the
Israelis to peace and security”.

“As regards the horrific situation in
Syria”, he continued, “the Holy See urgently calls on all parties
to stop the massive violations of international humanitarian law and
fundamental human rights, and on the international community to help
the parties find a solution. There is no other way to alleviate and
put an end to the untold sufferings of the entire nation, where half
of its population needs humanitarian assistance and around a third
has been displaced”.

With regard to Lebanon, “the Holy See
calls for international solidarity, at this time that the country is
gravely affected by the Syrian crisis and by the massive presence of
refugees, and exhorts Lebanon to find a solution as soon as possible
to the vacancy of the Presidency of the Republic. The Holy See
reaffirms its support for a sovereign and free Lebanon. Lebanon is a
'message', a 'sign' full of hope for the coexistence of the various
groups that form it”.

Turning to the “grave violations and
abuses committed by the so-called 'Islamic State' in Iraq and Syria,
the competent organs of the United Nations must act to prevent
possible new genocides and to assist the increasing number of
refugees. The Holy See appeals in particular for the protection of
the ethnic and religious groups, including the Christian communities,
who are specifically targeted and victimised because of their ethnic
origins and religious beliefs. The Holy See insists on the respect of
the right of these communities and all the displaced persons to
return to their homes and to live in dignity and safety”.

“The Holy See hopes that the United
Nations take the escalating, ruthless phenomenon of international
terrorism as an occasion to urgently re-enforce the international
juridical framework of a multilateral application of the
responsibility to protect people from genocide, war crimes, ethnic
cleansing, crimes against humanity and all forms of unjust
aggression. With lessons learned from our failure to stop recent
horrors of genocide and presently confronted with blatant, massive
violations of fundamental human rights and of international
humanitarian law, the time is for courageous decisions”, urged the
Permanent Observer.

“The Holy See reiterates its call to
all the religious leaders in the region and everywhere in the world
to play a leading role in promoting interreligious and intercultural
dialogue, in promptly denouncing every use of religion to justify
violence, and in educating all to reciprocal understanding and mutual
respect”, the nuncio concluded.